A window into the mind of a movie buff, people lover, sycophant hater, calling spade a spade'r.

Friday, 23 May 2014

The Tiger Tales My review Heropanti

Director Sabbir KhanStarring Tiger Shroff, Kriti Sanon, Prakash Raj

In 1983 Subhash Ghai gave us Hero, one of the most memorable films of Jackie Shroff, 31 years later his son Tiger Shroff makes his debut with Heropanti. I am dropping a big hint there, and no, it is not about how "original" this film is. The buzz was humungous, everyone was waiting for this star son's debut to roll out. Heropanti as the name suggests is about, well, Tiger's display of all the facets that an Indian hero needs to portray to woo the entertainment seeking janta. Film main action hai, romance hai, Melodrama hai, yahan tak ke "bachaao bachaao, nahiii nahiiii" scene bhi hai!The story is straightforward enough. Bablu (Tiger) helps his friend and his girlfriend run away from an arranged marriage. The girl's father Chaudhary jee (Prakash Raj) and his entourage of Jat goons of the Khap-land capture Bablu and his friends and go on a hunt for the girl and her boyfriend. Bablu falls head over heels in love with Bapu jee's younger daughter (So much for surprise). How will this intense love story end, oh come on, we all know THAT! Ok, let's talk about Tiger Shroff, the kid has excelled as far as the action goes. He jumps, kicks, leaps over buildings, walls and packs a punch. His body is chiseled, albeit he could have done with a foot or two in the height department. Very impressive there, I must say. His acting, now that is something he would really, really need to work upon if he wants to stay around longer. His constant smile, his baby pink lips and a faraway look in his eyes even in some serious melodramatic scenes, that will need to change, especially when there are much more talented youngsters around like Arjun and Sushant. But does Tiger make a mark, yes he does. He has screen presence, a certain coolth and an innocent vibe which works in his favor.

Kriti Sanon is good looking and has a great bod, and to me she and Tiger looked good together. But her role is so stereotypical that even if she is a good actress, I wouldn't know from this film. Prakash Raj, aah, the the omnipresent baddie in all the southern remakes, oh, yes, Heropanti is a remake (It is so cliched that it is a mish-mash of not one but many films, especially DDLJ) of Parugu, a 2008 Telugu film. His character roars, makes scary eyes and then towards the end... even holds hands with Bablu. SO cute na.
It is obvious that this film had one purpose, to launch Tiger Shroff, and package him in a film where everything else becomes a distant, very distant second. Like the story, screenplay, logic etc. And to that end, it doesn't fail. Sabbir Khan has ensured that you do accept Tiger Shroff, even if you reject the storytelling.

Good music, even when the songs just come up like a pop-up ad on your browser (read random) and cinematography make it bearable. I really like "Raat Bhar".

The length of the film is another minus. Specially when it is filled with too much melodrama and predictable plot twists. Oh, and the Big Hint was about the signature flute piece from Hero, which has been used till it comes out of your skin.

End Note : Go watch it for some cool stunts by Tiger Shroff and if you are a Jackie Fan like me!